St. Petersburg, Fla., USA (October 14, 2008) – The list of invited skippers for the 2008 Rolex Osprey Cup has been announced by organizers St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Topping the list at the ISAF Grade 1 match racing regatta is Claire Leroy (Nantes, FRA), the world’s #1 ranked match racer and ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year in 2007.  Leroy will face a field of the world’s top women sailors dueling in a one-on-one format in Sonar class keelboats, from October 22-25 on Tampa Bay.

“We are very happy to come back to the Rolex Osprey Cup,” said Leroy, a two-time champion (2004/03) and 2008 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World champion. “It was one of the first big events that we won. We are happy to sail. Since the beginning of September we have taken time off because I took a bad fall. We would like to put our name on the Trophy one more time! But the opponents are really good, so it will be a big challenge for us.”

One of three ISAF Grade 1 match race regattas in the United States (Boat U.S./Santa Maria Cup and Congressional Cup are the other two), the Rolex Osprey Cup is expected to receive quite a bit of attention as the match racing discipline for women will make its debut at the 2012 Olympics in England.

“With the inclusion of match racing in the 2012 Olympics and the recently completed Qingdao Olympics, this is a building year for women’s sailing,” said Pat Seidenspinner (St. Petersburg, Fla.), the event’s co-chair and its Principal Race Officer (PRO). “The interest from sailors asking for invitations has gone through the roof. Since match racing is limited to a relatively small amount of competing teams, 10 in our case, there are only so many skippers and teams we can invite.”

It appears that almost every competitor this year has Olympic aspirations of some degree. For Leroy, there is no doubt. “Our goal is to match race in the next Olympics,” she said. Leroy, who is on the shortlist for 2008 ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year, has consistency on her side with crew Elodie Bertrand, Marie Riou and Claire Pruvot, the same team that won the Worlds.

Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), a member of the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics, recently completed a four-year, full-time campaign in pursuit of an Olympic medal. Along with skipper Sally Barkow and crewmate Carrie Howe, she competed in the Yngling class at the 2008 Olympics, finishing seventh. Since returning home in August, the team has pursued fleet and match racing, with Capozzi crewing for Barkow and winning the Boat U.S./Santa Maria Cup. Capozzi skippered to 5th place at the U.S. Women’s Match Race Championship with skipper Genny Tulloch (her crew here). Her crew includes Molly O’Brien-Vandemoer, who won the U.S. Women’s Match Racing champs as crew for Anna Tunnicliffe, the Olympic Gold Medalist, Derby Anderson and Tulloch, who was a member of the Disney movie Morning Light, currently in theatres.

“I think everybody who is attending has a shot to win the event,” said Capozzi, a two-time ISAF Women’s Match Racing World champion (2005/04). “That is what is so great about this event. Pat Seidenspinner and the St. Pete Yacht Club do a great job organizing the event and taking care of the competitors.  It is one of the best regattas of the year.”

For Giulia Conti (Toscolano Maderno, ITA), the 2005 Rolex Osprey Cup champion and runner-up in 2007, her return to the regatta signals a renewed commitment to match racing after four solid years of training in the 470 class. Along with crew Giovanna Micol, she placed fifth at the 2008 Olympics. “We didn’t have much time to match race, not even to practice,” she said. “I think that all the competitors will be very challenging. I’m sure everyone has started training and competing since match racing will become an Olympic event in London 2012. So I will expect improved crews which means fun racing! It is an honor for us to participate at this event. We’ve done it for years and we always enjoy sailing in St. Pete.”

Jo Ann Fisher (Annapolis, Md.) is relatively new to match racing, but has posted some impressive finishes in 2008 including fourth-place at the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Nationals, ninth at the Boat U.S./Santa Maria Cup and fifth at the Rolex Women’s Match. Her crew includes Maegan Ruhlman, Linda Hiller and Casey Williams.

“Our expectations for this regatta will be to learn more about match racing, improve our skills and perhaps improve on our previous results in a Grade 1 event, said Fisher. “Looking at the list of competitors, everyone will be challenging.”

Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La., USA) finished second in the 2008 Rolex Women’s Match behind Sandy Hayes, and finished second in the 2006 and 2005 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship and third in the 2005 Mayor’s Cup. This is her third time competing in the Rolex Osprey Cup. Her crew is Ann Graham, Elizabeth Kratzig and Chafee Emory.

Sandy Hayes (Scituate, Mass., USA) has seen her world ranking climb steadily over the past years with significant wins at the 2008 Rolex Women’s Match, which she also won in 2006 and 2004, and top-four finishes at the 2008 Mayor’s Cup (2nd), Vitória Brasil Women’s Cup (3rd) and the recent Troia Portugal Women’s Cup (4th). Her crew is Nancy Heffernan, Cindy Olsen and Verian Aguilar.

“I want to stay involved in the women’s match racing as a competitor and/or to be very instrumental in putting a U.S. team on the podium in 2012,” said Hayes. “The last time I raced against Claire was this July at the Match Cup Sweden. She is hard to beat. Her team is strong in the pre-start, they have great boat handling, they are smart on the race course and they have fantastic support from the French Sailing Federation.”

Three skippers are competing in St. Petersburg for the first time. Anne-Claire Le Berre (Brest, FRA) is making her debut at the Rolex Osprey Cup. In 2004, she discovered match racing and within one year her rank had climbed to ninth in the world ranking (July 2006). Le Berre finished in third overall at the Eurosaf European Championship in Saint Quay Portrieux, France by defeating Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN). Her crew is Marion Deplanque, Alice Ponsar and Jeanne Gregoire .

Lucy Macgregor (Poole, GBR), who recently won the Eurosaf European Championship, returns to the match racing circuit after narrowly missing the British squad selection in the Yngling for the 2008 Olympic Games. In addition to the Europeans, Macgregor also won the Ladies Match Cup in Germany and the Antibes Match Race, which qualified her to Nations Cup next year. Her crew is Ally Martin, Georgie Blaver-Mann and Mary Rook. “It has been a busy two months for us and the Osprey will be one of the last events for us this autumn,” she said. “We would really like to finish our run of events well. We are really looking forward to the racing and opportunity to continue building our match racing experience.”

Samantha Osborne (Kerikeri, New Zealand) has a strong match racing background, finishing fourth in the 2007 New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championship and sixth in the 2007 Harken Women’s Match Racing Regatta. Her crew is Carla Holgate, Jenna Hansen and Genoa Griffin Fedyszyn.

Rachel Silverstein (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA) grew up sailing at St. Petersburg Yacht Club, graduating through the junior sailing ranks while in high school. Now a student at the University of Southern Florida and a member of its sailing team, she returns to the Rolex Osprey Cup a veteran match racer having competed twice before with her best finish of eighth in 2006. At press time her crew was undecided. Her crew is Darby Smith, plus two TBA.

A few weeks before the regatta, Leroy analyzed the field. “Lucy (Macgregor) has a very dangerous team. She won the Europeans and the last Grade 1 in Germany. Anne-Claire (Le Berre) has a good French team. They are coming back from an Yngling campaign and can do very well. Sandy Hayes won the Rolex Women’s Match; she knows the boat and the venue. Samantha Osborne is new to the international circuit. We sailed against her in New Zealand this year and she can do some very good things. Debbie Capozzi is a two-time world champion with Sally Barkow and a very good sailor. She can win. Giulia Conti is a famous sailor. She is a great sailor who is good in every boat and discipline.”

Two competitors received invitations to this event based on their performance at the Rolex Women’s Match, a grade 3 event held this past April at the SPYC: winner Sandy Hayes and runner-up Katy Lovell.  A total of 10 teams competed in the Grade 3 match-racing regatta, which was created in 2002 to improve opportunities for women sailors specifically interested in match racing.

The Rolex Osprey Cup schedule includes registration and practice sailing on Tuesday, October 21.   Daily racing – beginning at 11:00am on Wednesday, Oct. 22 and 9:00am on Thursday, Oct. 23 through Saturday, Oct. 25 – takes place near the St. Petersburg Municipal Pier, making spectating easy and enjoyable from shore. The format consists of a double round robin, with knockout (first to win 3 points) semi-final and final rounds scheduled at the end of the round robins.

Organizers are Tom Farquhar and Pat Seidenspinner, who is also the Principal Race Officer. Chief Umpire is Alfredo Ricci (ITA) with umpires: Marianne Middelthon (NOR), Dick Kempe (BER), Barbara Farquhar (USA), Tom Farquhar (USA), Serge Jorgensen (USA), Ann Newton (USA), Glenn Oliver (USA), David Pelling (CAN), Tom Rinda (USA), Stephen VanDyke (USA) and Steve Wrigley (USA).

The 10 competing teams (in alpha order):
Skipper (Hometown/Country) World Rank, Crew
1. Debbie CAPOZZI (Bayport, N.Y., USA) #62, Genny Tulloch, Molly O’Brien Vandemoer, Derby Anderson
2. Giulia CONTI (Toscolano Maderno, ITA) #71, Alessandra Marenzi, Alessandra Angelini, Giovanna Micol
3. JoAnn FISHER (Annapolis, Md., USA) #41, Maegan Ruhlman, Linda Hiller, Casey Williams
4. Sandy HAYES (Scituate, Mass., USA) #19, Nancy Heffernan, Cindy Olsen, Verian Aguilar
5. Anne-Claire LE BERRE (Brest, FRA) #32, Marion Deplanque, Alice Ponsar, Jeanne Gregoire
6. Claire LEROY (Nantes, FRA) #1, Elodie Bertrand, Marie Riou, Claire Pruvot
7. Katy LOVELL (New Orleans, La., USA) #21, Ann Graham, Elizabeth Kratzig, Chafee Emory
8. Lucy MACGREGOR (Poole, GBR) #16, Ally Martin, Georgie Blaver-Mann and Mary Rook
9. Samantha OSBORNE (Kerikeri, NZL) #34, Carla Holgate, Jenna Hansen, Genoa Griffin Fedyszyn
10. Rachael SILVERSTEIN (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA) #58, Darby Smith, plus two crew TBA

The Rolex Osprey Cup was founded in 1996 and in 2000 Rolex Watch U.S.A. became the title sponsor.  The regatta was not held in 2000 in lieu of hosting the Rolex ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. Additional sponsors include Crown Eurocars Mercedes Benz and Edgewater Boats, which donated the use of the umpire boats. 

Rolex Watch U.S.A. is the title sponsor of the Rolex Osprey Cup, which joins an international portfolio of Rolex sailing regattas including the Rolex Fastnet Race, the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Rolex Swan Cup, the Rolex Big Boat Series and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.